University of Washington
Michigan
Huskies Defend Home Turf Against Michigan
February 11, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 11, 2012
SEATTLE - The Husky men's tennis team was eager for a challenge at home and 28th-ranked Michigan provided the opportunity today at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. Washington seized hold of the chance and rolled to a 6-1 victory, posting straight set singles wins on five courts.
Washington improves to 5-2 on the year and bounced back from a pair of tough road setbacks with a convincing win over a top-30 opponent.
"Only a couple of tiebreakers got away from us, and we need to do better with that, but overall we just made a lot less errors," said Head Coach Matt Anger. "If we can do that, I know that we're tough competitors, so if we're not giving away anything we're going to be tough to play against."
The No. 1 singles match put two top-15 players head-to-head in 15th-ranked Husky junior Kyle McMorrow and Michigan's sixth-ranked Evan King. The Huskies had already secured the team victory by the time the top match was decided, but McMorrow's 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory was no less sweet because of it. McMorrow also earned a win over King in a national singles tournament this past fall.
"King is a very solid all-around player, and for Kyle to get him twice this year says a lot right there. He's been working really hard and doing a lot of good things and it's great for him to get a reward for that."
Up 1-0 after doubles, the Huskies took command quickly in singles play thanks to a trio of freshmen. Emmett Egger got a big win at second singles, defeating Shaun Bernstein, 6-2, 6-3. That was followed by a 6-3, 6-3 win for Viktor Farkas over Michael Zhu in the No. 4 spot. Washington clinched when redshirt frosh Nicholas Kamisar polished off a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Alex Buzzi.
Not long after, junior Marton Bots posted another point with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Alex Petrone in the third singles match. After McMorrow's win made it 6-0, the Wolverines earned the last point, as sophomore Max Manthou lost a marathon No. 5 singles match to Barrett Franks that saw tiebreakers in the first two sets, followed by a third-set super-tiebreak that Franks won, 10-3.
The Huskies brought great focus to the doubles courts to start the match. The Huskies pulled ahead in the second and third matches, while the No. 1 match was a nailbiter all the way through. Jeff Hawke and Max Manthou got the first win at second doubles, topping Franks and Buzzi, 8-5. UW's top duo of McMorrow and Egger were then edged in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-3), to tie up the point, but senior Matt Stith and junior Marton Bots pulled away at third doubles for an 8-4 win over Michigan's Petrone and Zhu.
Tomorrow the Huskies are back in action against UC Santa Barbara with first serve at 12 noon.
Washington Men's Tennis
Nordstrom Tennis Center - Seattle, Wash.
February 11, 2012
No. 26 Washington 6, No. 28 Michigan 1
Doubles
1) (22) King/Bernstein (UM) def. McMorrow/Egger (UW), 9-8 (3)
2) Hawke/Manthou (UW) def. Franks/Buzzi (UM), 8-5
3) Stith/Bots (UW) def. Petrone/Zhu (UM), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1) (15) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. (6) Evan King (UM), 6-3, 7-6 (6)
2) Emmett Egger (UW) def. Shaun Bernstein (UM), 6-2, 6-3
3) Marton Bots (UW) def. Alex Petrone (UM), 6-2, 6-3
4) Viktor Farkas (UW) def. Michael Zhu (UM), 6-3, 6-3
5) Barrett Franks (UM) def. Max Manthou (UW), 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), (10-3)
6) Nicholas Kamisar (UW) def. Alex Buzzi (UM), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 4, 6, 3, 1, 5
Players Mentioned
